Structural system.



A. B. WETHERELL.

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14. 1913.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

AS mcrorv u c A. B. WETHERELL.

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.

APPLLCATION HLED MAR.'14, 1913.

l ,21 2,726. Patented. J an. 16; 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSE I THE nomzls sssssssssssssssssssssss c.

' srRUcrnnAL sYsT MQ i To all whom it may-concern Be it known-that I, Anson BINETHEREL a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the countyv of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Structural Systems, of which the following is a specifiCatlOn. V i l;

This invention relates to metal structural work for. buildings, bridges, steel cars and other structural work, and it has for its primary objects the provision ,of a system whereby the construction maybe secured together and fastened in a simple and inexpensive manner, obviating the use of rivets and the other means of fastening at present current in structural work; and the provision of an improved joint for structural work which has the operative and functional characteristics specified. Myinvention further contemplates an improved joint which has great rigidity and strength and which is simple and does awaywith the use of rivets; and also the provision of improved means for locking the parts together. These together with such other objects as 'may hereinafter appear, I attain by means of a construction, various embodiments of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the structural work for a building sh0wing the application of my invention thereto; Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section through my improved joint; Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a perspective illustration of a detail of the invention. 7

Broadly stated, my invention is intended to reduce the cost of metal structural work for buildings, bridges, steel cars, and the like, by the'elimination of the use of rivets, and'I accomplish this by providing a rivetless joint structure which is readily put together and when assembled, is rigid and strong and easily locked. To form a joint of this character I provide the parts going to make up the joint with inter-fitting portions preferably fluted or corrugated which are held in position with respect to each other by removable keys.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 5 inclusive,

it will be seen I have shown uprights 7 of the structural work of a building, a rider 8, and stringer-lockingmembers 9, the latterv two being supported from the uprights.

Specification of Lettersl atent. Application filedMarch 14,1913. -Serial No. 754,285.

' From the foregoing it r tentetiaan. L e, ism;

- The. uprightsfl bev of the usu al chane nel formation butI have shown my improved joint structure specifically. applied thereto, in order to illustrate the-various forms to WhlCh my inventionmay beadapt- 'edn As shown, the upright comprises two interlocking T-sections 12 which are duplicates of oneianother... The. websjl3are provided with corrugations 14 and a; flange. of

each T-section isprovided with a longitudinally extending groove 15 intowhichthe end of the web of the complementary section fits. The Tsare positioned and locked together by sliding them past each other, as. will be readily apparent on" inspection of Fig. 4C. The other'flange of'each section is provided with a similar groove 16, and the sections arelocked in assembled position by means-of the key-plates 17 each of which engages the grooves 15 and 16 and abuts the web of a section. This construction prevents separation-of the T-sections laterally and atthe same time affords ease in assemblage. The members 8 and 9 support the up right against lateral displacement, while they are at the same time so arranged as to be locked in position. The base or flanged portionjof the 'T-sections is provided with a pair of vertical slots 19 adjacent the ends of the section, one on each-side of the web. The

stringers 9 are adapted to fit into these slots,

the inner ends, 19, being corrugated andex-' tending within the upright. The riders 8 are provided with an end plate 20 (see Fig.

4) which is corrugated to correspond with the ends 19. The rider is placed in position by sliding it between the ends ofthe' stringers and a key-plate so that the corrugated portions of the rider and the stringers interlock. By this construction both the riders and the stringers are locked together and to the upright. The weight-of the riders V is transmitted to the uprights through the stringers. If desired, the stringers may be supportedon the U-clips 21 which are hung from the base of a 'T-section adjacent a slot 19. As'an additional means of supporting the riders, plates 22 provided with bent- .over portions 23aga1nst which the riders abut may be provided in the uprights. The

key-plates 17 extendabove the top of the upright to make a joint with the superimposed upright.

have providedja joint construction whereby will-be clear that I using rivetswhich form a large proportion of the cost of structural systems at present in vogue. At the same time the entire structure is supported, braced, and locked together vertically and laterally. It is obvious that aconsiderable Variety of changes in detail may be made in the construction herein described without departing from the spirit of my invention and the invention is therefore not limited to the specific construction illustrated.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following:

1. In metal structural work, the combination of an upright flanged beam, a laterally extending member carried by a flange of the beam having corrugations adjacent the end supported on the flange, anda laterally extending rider having a corrugated end por- Oopies of this patent may be obtained for tion adapted to fit the corrugations on the said member and inserted between the beam and the corrugated end of said member.

2. In metal structural work, the combination of an upright flanged beam, a pair of laterally extending members supported on the flanges of the beam with their ends lying adjacent thejbeam and provided with corrugations, and a rider provided with a corrugated portion adapted to lie between the beam and the corrugated ends of said members and engage the corrugations thereof, and means for supporting the rider against relative downward vertical displacement.

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

7 ANSON B. WETI-IERELL. Witnesses:

HARVEY L. LEoHNnn, ARTHUR SYNNESTVEDT.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. G. 

